Late violinist’s ‘musical partner’ recovered
Sanders statue Culture fest
Roman Totenberg was devastated by the theft in 1980 of his beloved Stradivarius, his ‘‘musical partner of 38 years’’. For the rest of his long life, the virtuoso violinist and internationally celebrated teacher dreamt of being reunited with the instrument, which disappeared from his office at the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one evening after a concert.
He died three years ago, aged 101. Then in June his daughter, Nina, received a phone call from Christopher McKeogh, an FBI agent, to say that the prized instrument had been recovered.
Totenberg always suspected that the thief was a young violinist called Phillip Johnson who he spotted hanging around his office after the concert that night, but police never gathered enough evidence to act on his belief.
Johnson moved to California, had an undistinguished musical career, and died of cancer in 2011. Earlier this year his ex-wife came upon a locked violin case that Johnson had left to her. Inside was an instrument with a label that said it was made in 1743.
She arranged to meet an appraiser at a hotel in New York. He looked at the violin in silence for half an hour and then urged her to call the police. Within two hours, Special Agent McKeogh was at the hotel.
‘‘It’s rare in our business that we have the opportunity for onestop shopping,’’ he said, citing the presence in the room of the stolen instrument, the person who possessed it and the expert appraiser.
Totenberg intends to sell the instrument, but only for the ‘‘specific purpose of being played’’.
A Stradivarius sold for US$15 million (NZ$23m) in 2011, but last year another, valued at $10 million, went unsold at auction. Whatever the eventual price tag, it is likely to be rather more than the $15,000 that Totenberg paid for it in 1943. Totenberg and her two sisters plan to celebrate after the sale: every evening their father used to drink a shot of vodka with his cheese and crackers, Totenberg said. ‘‘We’re going to do the same at lunch.’’
The Times
A statue of the world famous founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken has been unveiled. Officials in Corbin, Kentucky, showcased the bronze, life-size statue of Colonel Harland Sanders during a ceremony yesterday. The area, which is now known as Sanders Park, used to be a blighted piece of property. Sanders is a recognisable figure known throughout the world for his successful restaurant business and secret fried chicken recipe. He opened his first restaurant in Corbin in the 1930s. Mayor Willard McBurney says the statue is a major part of the city’s vision to revitalise Main Street and to bring in more tourists to see the city. The statue was sculpted and installed by Louisville artist Raymond Graff.
Talk show queen Oprah Winfrey and actor Matt Damon are among the big names Pope Frances has reportedly summoned to the Vatican for a culture conference. Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter the pontiff is planning a meeting later this year to discuss the perceptions of the Catholic church in the media. Oprah and Damon are on his shortlist. The Pope is hoping the summit meeting, following his September visit to the US, will serve as a brainstorming session on how he and the church’s top officials can boost the popularity of Catholicism in America and beyond.